Passive wireless tags for tongue controlled assistive technology interfaces

Tongue control with low profile, passive mouth tags is demonstrated as a human–device interface by communicating values of tongue-tag separation over a wireless link. Confusion matrices are provided to demonstrate user accuracy in targeting by tongue position. Accuracy is found to increase dramatically after short training sequences with errors falling close to 1% in magnitude with zero missed targets. The rate at which users are able to learn accurate targeting with high accuracy indicates that this is an intuitive device to operate. The significance of the work is that innovative very unobtrusive, wireless tags can be used to provide intuitive human–computer interfaces based on low cost and disposable mouth mounted technology. With the development of an appropriate reading system, control of assistive devices such as computer mice or wheelchairs could be possible for tetraplegics and others who retain fine motor control capability of their tongues. The tags contain no battery and are intended to fit directly on the hard palate, detecting tongue position in the mouth with no need for tongue piercings

Using cyber capabilities to inform and influence

As the world evolves and becomes more technical, the need for traditional messaging techniques diminishes. The need of the military to be able to dynamically target an individual or group with specific messages in order to inform or influence grows exponentially every year. This need also increases as the United States shifts its military focus from uneducated Third World countries to countries with established infrastructure and large cyber footprints. The military must be able to use the cyber domain to inform or influence a target audience to achieve a desired effect by disseminating a message, attributable or non-attributable, through use of the Web, e-mail or social media. The ability to understand the topology of the Internet is key to targeting a specific audience and to do this an understanding of geolocation is key. To target a specific audience with a message we must understand where they are located to understand culture, customs, and language. With cyberspace quickly becoming a dominant factor in the information environment, how can the military use the cyber domain to inform or influence a target audience to achieve a desired effect by disseminating a message, either attributable or non-attributable through the web, e-mail or social mediahttp://archive.org/details/usingcybercapabi1094527908Major, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Effects of Resident Species on Recruitment into a Community: Larval Settlement Versus Post-Settlement Mortality in the Oyster Crassostrea virginica

Laboratory and field experiments revealed that a variety of species of common, sessile invertebrates, including barnacles, ascidians, and bryozoans, affected the settlement and post-settlement abundance of the oyster Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin). While the nature of the effects varied, most species both reduced oyster settlement by covering and removing substrate available for attachment, and increased settlement on adjacent surfaces. The solitary ascidians Ciona intestinalis (L.) and Styela clava (Herdman), were found to be predators of oyster larvae. Post-settlement survivorship and growth were also strongly affected by the presence of sessile species. In most cases the effects were negative and correlated with the abundances of the species. Data suggest that competition for planktonic food was the mostly likely cause of reduced growth and survivorship. For many resident species, the combination of reduced oyster settlement on their own exposed surfaces, increased settlement on substrate adjacent to them, and decreased post-settlement survivorship in their presence resulted in these species having little effect on net recruitment. These results demonstrate the need for distinguishing interactions among benthic invertebrate populations during the period from settlement to recruitment

Effects of Inter-Specific Density and Food Supply on Survivorship and Growth of Newly Settled Benthos

Using a laboratory model system comprised of newly settled oysters Crassostrea virginica and established fouling species (Botrylloides sp. initially, and others including Styela clava and Ciona intestinalis as the experiment progressed), we tested how differences in food supply and competitor density may affect post-settlement surivorship and growth of sessile marine invertebrates over a 44 d period. After 15 d, results were mixed but indicated that both food and density conditions affected growth and survivorship significantly, with some suggestion of high food levels ameliorating high density effects However, 44 d after settlement, oysters had reduced survivorship and growth when competitors were present regardless of food level. This study suggests that localized food depletion by juveniles and/or adults of resident species may have a negative effect on recruitment in fouling communities, even when space is not limiting

A Metamodeling Approach to Teaching Conceptual Modeling at Large

In the authors\u27 university there is a challenge, with respect to Conceptual Modeling topics, of bridging the gap between bachelor-level studies and research work. At bachelor-level, Conceptual Modeling is subordinated to Software Engineering topics consequently making extensive use of software design standards. However, at doctoral level or in project-based work, modeling methods must be scientifically framed within wider-scoped paradigms - Design Science, Enterprise Modeling etc. In order to bridge this gap, we developed a teaching artifact to present Conceptual Modeling as a standalone discipline that can produce its own artifacts, driven by requirements in a variety of domains. The teaching artifact is an agile modeling method that is iteratively implemented by students. The key takeaway revelation for students is that a modeling language is a knowledge schema that can be tailored and migrated for specific purposes just like a database schema, to accommodate an application domain and its modeling requirements

Sol-gel processing of ruthenium and iridium dioxides

The synthesis of the Ru₄O₆⁴⁺(aq) ion and attempts to produce derivative complexes of it are explored. Although crystals suitable for examination by single crystal X-Ray crystallography were not obtained, the core structure of the Ru₄Os⁴⁺ ion in solution has been successfully determined using Ru K edge EXAFS spectroscopy. The refined results for solutions of the ion in aqueous acid, provide strong indications that the ion has an adamantanoid core arrangement in solution and that core structures based on hydroxo groups i.e Ru4(OH)₁₂⁴⁺ can be ruled out. Preparation and controlled hydrolysis of a variety of ruthenium precursors aimed at preparing gels of RuO₂.nH₂O gave at best powders. For example, only RuO₂ powders were obtained by raising the pH of solutions of the Ru₄O₆⁴⁺+ ion. However, gels of a RuO₂-TiO₂ mixed oxide were readily prepared from the alkoxides. From TGA/DTA, X-Ray, and electron microscopy data these proved to be a mixture of two different oxide phases rather than a solid solution, hi some samples the RuO₂ phase contains some of the smallest RuO₂ nanoparticles so far reported. The mixed oxide gels and powders obtained were found to contain a number of impurities. Work performed on the iridium aqua ion [Ir(H₂O)₆]³⁺ is reported along with experiments to produce mixed IrO₂-TiO₂ oxides using iridixun ethoxide and iridium acetate complexes as starting materials. The aqua ion was found to give a powder product but gels were obtained from the other two precursors. The gels have been characterized and it was found that IrO₂ is highly dispersed within a TiO₂ matrix. The electrocatalytic properties of the IrO₂ containing gels have been determined by studying the rates of oxygen evolution and the rate of consumption of cerium (IV) ions. The results show that the sol-gel derived IrO₂ systems show good activity towards catalysing oxygen evolution by these ions

Antibody Levels in Beef Calves (Birth through Weaning) Following \u3ci\u3eClostridium perfringens \u3c/i\u3eType C Toxoid and/or Antitoxin Administration

According to National Cattlemen\u27s Association data, there are approximately 35 million beef cows and 10 million dairy cows in the United States. Combining pre-calving, pre-weaning, yearling, breeding bulls and replacement heifer vaccination opportunities to utilize Clostridial immunization programs, it is estimated that well in excess of 100 million doses of various Clostridial containing products are used each year. Knowing which products stimulate satisfactory antibody levels and their duration of response is an essential part of making informed recommendations to producers for controlling disease. Presently, non-industry, controlled field studies assessing Clostridial products are not available. Specifically, Clostridium perfringens Type C is a common cause of neonatal calf diarrhea. Although histopathological diagnoses of this disease are made, these cases are frequently difficult to confirm. They are often referred to as sudden/unknown death in calves. From 18 veterinary diagnostic laboratories across the United States contributing to the USDA:APHIS:VS DxMONITOR (summer, 1992), 237 suspected cases of Clostridium perfringens Types C were tested during the period January 1, 1992 to March 31, 1992, but only 22 cases were confirmed. As such, Veterinary Clinicians must rely on gross necropsy results and frequently make recommendations with limited confirmatory information. Anecdotal information from several veterinary clinicians suggests that the incidence of these non-confirmed diagnoses diminished greatly with the use of Clostridium perfringens C&D products prophylactically. Various opinions abound as to whether the best response to controlling Clostridium perfringens Type C or sudden death in young beef calves is achieved with the use of toxoid, antitoxin, or both, and whether an acceptable response is achieved by administration at birth, two-weeks, or at two-months-of-age. Lack of definitive information regarding optimum protection afforded by the use of these products and their timing leads to possible ineffective use. This, therefore, results in increased cost of the production by both product purchase and labor, and possible increased tissue damage as observed by several Beef Quality Assurance Programs using 7-way Clostridial products

Nonnative structure in a peptide model of the unfolded state of SOD1: Implications for ALS-linked aggregation

Dozens of mutations throughout the sequence of the gene encoding superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) have been linked to toxic protein aggregation in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A parsimonious explanation for numerous genotypes resulting in a common phenotype would be mutation-induced perturbation of the folding free-energy surface that increases the populations of high-energy states prone to aggregation. The absence of intermediates in the folding of monomeric SOD1 suggests that the unfolded ensemble is a potential source of aggregation. To test this hypothesis, here we dissected SOD1 into a set of peptides end-labeled with FRET probes to model the local behavior of the corresponding sequences in the unfolded ensemble. Using time-resolved FRET, we observed that the peptide corresponding to the loop VII-beta8 sequence at the SOD1 C-terminus was uniquely sensitive to denaturant. Utilizing a two-dimensional form of maximum entropy modeling, we demonstrate that the sensitivity to denaturant is the surprising result of a two-state-like transition from a compact to an expanded state. Variations of the peptide sequence revealed that the compact state involves a nonnative interaction between the disordered N-terminus and the hydrophobic C-terminus of the peptide. This nonnative intramolecular structure could serve as a precursor for intermolecular association and result in aggregation associated with ALS. We propose that this precursor would provide a common molecular target for therapeutic intervention in the dozens of ALS-linked SOD1 mutations